Red Cross Holiday Campaign 2012

During the 2012 holiday season, the American Red Cross is asking everyone to support the Red Cross mission by giving something meaningful – giving hope to those in need.

The Red Cross acknowledges and is grateful for the generous outpouring of support of the Red Cross response to Superstorm Sandy; but the Red Cross still needs donations to support the smaller disasters that occur every day across the country and right here in Alabama.

The 2012 American Red Cross Holiday Giving Campaign runs through the end of the year. People can support Red Cross services by making a financial donation, giving blood, or signing a holiday card for a member of the Armed Forces.

HOLIDAY GIVING CATALOG
As people look for gift ideas this year, the Red Cross offers its 2012 Holiday Giving Catalog, through which people can support Red Cross programs by purchasing a variety of symbolic gifts. Shoppers can buy food and shelter for a disaster victim, phone cards for members of the military, vaccinations for an entire village and many other gift ideas. Catalog purchases come with greeting cards shoppers can send to a friend or loved one, letting them know a donation has been made in their name. The purchase of each gift item is a tax-deductible contribution and provides support to the mission of the Red Cross. The catalog gifts are contributions toward a Red Cross program area, not a donation to a specific project or item.

REMEMBER OUR MILITARY
Deployments and hospital stays keep many of our nation’s heroes away from their loved ones during the holidays. The Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are collaborating on the annual Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign, collecting and distributing cards to members of the Armed Forces, veterans and their families. The public is invited to send messages of thanks and holiday cheer until December 7 to Holiday Mail for Heroes, P.O. Box 5456, Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456. Individuals are asked to refrain from sending “care packages,” monetary donations, or using glitter or any other kinds of inserts with the cards. More information and card requirements are on the Red Cross web site. Send support. Send a holiday card to members of the Armed Forces this holiday season. Just say thanks – we’ll do the rest.

PLEASE GIVE BLOOD
Give blood this holiday season and people won’t just be spreading joy. They’ll be spreading hope as well. As many as 44,000 blood donations are needed every day across the country to meet the needs of hospital patients. During the holiday season, it is very difficult to collect enough blood for those who need it. People get busy with their holiday preparations and celebrations and giving blood is not a priority. The Red Cross asks those who are able to please give blood during the 2012 holiday season. To schedule a blood donation or for more information, people can call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org .

Here in Alabama Region, the American Red Cross provided the following services during the last fiscal year (July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012).

*Disaster Services: Responded to 2,186 disasters
We assisted over 2,275 families with immediate assistance to victims of natural disasters (including fire, tornadoes, wind, flood, hurricane, lightning, etc.). Immediate assistance could be anything from a place to live, clothing, food, referrals, prescription medications, eyeglasses, etc.

*Services to Armed Forces: 7,640 services were provided to military families   
This service consists of emergency communication messaging between the families, verifications, national messaging services, the military branch of service and the soldier. We briefed 24,040 military personnel and their families before deployment to other military units.

*Project SHARE: Opened 8,980 cases serving 15,345 clients
This service is a utility assistance program funded by donations and administered by the Red Cross. This program gives financial relief to our senior citizens and people on disability.

*Community Education: 357,563 community members were touched through presentations
The Red Cross has a number of exceptional training programs to educate the public about proactive steps they can take to reduce their vulnerabilities to emergency situations and natural disasters. Red Cross presentations are made to schools, businesses, and other groups as part of our community commitment to help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to crisis situations.

*Volunteer Services: 192,521 volunteer hours logged and 3,238 active volunteers enrolled
This service allows community members the opportunity to volunteer their time on disasters locally and throughout the U.S. as well as volunteer at Red Cross offices, local hospitals, blood drives and other events.

*Health & Safety Services: 55,651 people received certification
Topics include Standard First Aid; Adult CPR; Infant and Child CPR; Workplace Safety; Water Safety Training; Lifeguarding; Nurse Assistant Training; Babysitter’s Training;